Steering wheel arrangements for motor vehicles are known, in which the risk of injury is reduced, should the driver, in the event of a crash, impact against the steering wheel whilst the airbag is not yet deployed. DE 44 06 420 A1, for example, discloses a steering wheel in which the steering wheel spokes, which join the hub and the steering wheel rim, are capable of bending should a driver impact against the steering wheel rim. In this case the steering wheel rim is capable of bending downwards from a normal plane relative to the hub into a deflection plane. This is achieved in that the padding material enclosing each steering wheel spoke running behind the central axis of the hub renders said spoke less flexurally rigid than does the padding material of each steering wheel spoke running in front of the central axis of the hub. This reduces the risk of injury to the impacting driver.
The disadvantage of this steering wheel lies in the increased cost, since spokes of different flexural rigidity have to be produced.
DE 197 47 873 A1 discloses an energy absorbing steering wheel which comprises an upper part containing the steering wheel rim and spokes, and a lower part which contains the hub, the lower part being designed as an energy absorbing deformable component. In order to achieve the energy absorption, the lower part has a shape such that sections thereof are capable of deformation. The lower part can therefore have a spoke-like structure, it being possible to influence the desired energy absorption through the number, shape and arrangement of the spokes.
This arrangement has the disadvantage that besides the spokes in the upper part, additional spokes are provided in the lower part, which make the steering wheel more costly.